Inter 1 - 2 Barcelona, match review
Team
— Dec 11th 2019The Nerazzurri slip to defeat against the Blaugrana at San Siro and finish third in their group
MILAN – Ruthlessness and precision. Two characteristics that Inter have displayed in the early part of this season. But they weren’t quite there when the Nerazzurri needed them most. It’s a 2-1 defeat that hurts, one which has resulted in our elimination from the Champions League. It’s also one which leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, especially after what we’ve been through during the group stage: Dortmund’s comeback and the numerous opportunities we’ve missed have come back to bite us.
Barcelona’s tempo wasn’t high: Valverde went for a 3-4-1-2 formation with the aim of stopping Brozovic from playing and making the most of quick bursts of acceleration from Carles Perez, who made his Champions League debut yesterday evening. Inter took the fight to the Blaugrana and were particularly threatening in the first half. The Nerazzurri were aggressive and tried to make the most of their midfielders and widemen as they went on the attack.
Conte’s men had 18 shots. Eight of these were on target, four in each half. The Nerazzurri scored once and had three disallowed for offside. Inter battled hard in midfield, where Brozovic touched the ball 82 times in a match where the young Alena was heavily involved in Barcelona’s moves going forward. Godin, Skriniar and De Vrij were also in the thick of the action and were aggressive in their play as the Nerazzurri looked to build from the back.
As always, our attacking play revolved around Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku. El Toro was especially dangerous, dropping deep with his back to goal in order to direct the team going forward. Our Argentine ended the evening with four shots at goal, two goals disallowed and an assist for Lukaku’s finish. The Nerazzurri duo have now scored all of Inter’s last seven goals: three for the Belgian and four for the man from Argentina.
It wasn’t quite enough from the boys on the pitch, but the fans really showed their support for a team who truly gave everything, right until the end and even after the goal from Ansu Fati, who became the youngest scorer in the history of the Champions League (17 years and 40 days).